Maths

Maths Lead: Mrs Collins

Mathematics at Godfrey Ermen

At Godfrey Ermen, our Mathematics curriculum is built around White Rose Maths and the NCETM Mastering Number programme, which form the core of our teaching and learning. These structured, research‑informed approaches enable us to deliver creative, engaging lessons that give children rich opportunities to explore mathematical ideas within a mastery framework.

Our aim is for every child to see themselves as a mathematician—confident, resilient, and able to persevere when faced with challenge. Lessons incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied, high‑quality activities focused on fluency, reasoning, and problem solving. A whole‑class teaching approach ensures that all children have access to the same high-quality learning experiences, supporting them to reach their full potential and develop the knowledge and skills needed for later life.

 
Our Mastery Approach

Our curriculum is carefully designed to develop pupils’ understanding of mathematical concepts from the Early Years through to Year 6. The mastery approach is highly inclusive: all children learn together in the same lesson, supported where necessary through the CPA (Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract) approach, targeted adult support, peer collaboration, and adapted tasks.

Teaching for mastery is underpinned by the Five Big Ideas, which guide all mathematics learning at Gems:

• Fluency: Efficient and accurate recall of key number facts and methods.
• Representations and Structures: Deep understanding is built through the use of concrete materials, pictorial representations, and abstract models.
• Variation: Conceptual variation exposes children to different representations of the same ideas. Procedural variation provides carefully sequenced practice that builds confidence and sophistication.
• Mathematical Thinking: Through high-quality questioning and focused tasks, pupils look for patterns, make connections, and reason using precise mathematical language.
• Coherence: Concepts are introduced in small, connected steps, ensuring secure understanding before moving on.

 Curriculum Structure

We follow the National Curriculum and use White Rose Maths as the main driver for our daily Maths lessons. White Rose provides a clear, progressive structure that supports small-step teaching, mastery development, and rich problem-solving experiences.

To strengthen early number sense, and to ensure secure foundations in number and calculation, we also implement the NCETM Mastering Number programme across relevant year groups. This programme provides daily practice with number patterns, subitising, and mental calculation strategies.

To further support fluency—particularly in multiplication and division facts—we enhance our curriculum with Times Table Rock Stars.